Captain W. H. Beltz
This well-known shipmaster was born in London, Ont., November 15, 1848, and before he was a year old removed with his parents to Grand Island, N. Y. He attended the public schools of that place and at the age of nine years became assistant cook on the tug Relief. In 1863 he was fireman on the tug Ellen M. O'Brien, and the following year he enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth United States Infantry, with which he sesrved faithfully for three years.
In 1869 Mr. Beltz received his papers as marine engineer, and shipped in that capacity on the tug Fanny White, of Cheboygan, Mich.; during the season of 1870 he was engineer on the tug Mildred, of that port, and in 1871 came to Buffalo and sailed the steamyacht Maggie L. Wilson, as master. The following year he shipped as second engineer on the tug Music, and in 1873 served as chief engineer of the barge Saginaw. He worked ashore during the years 1875 and 1876, and in 1877-78 was engineer of the steamer Allentown, the year following shipping on the tug Mayflower in the same capacity. In 1880 he sailed the private yacht Lorelei as master, and in 1890 became the master of the excursion steamer Huntress, belonging to the Oakfield and Island Clubs, and still holds that berth.
Captain Beltz was married November 27, 1879, to Miss Josie Rockleman, of Buffalo, and has three children living. They reside at No. 163 Potomac avenue, Buffalo, New York.
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Volume I
This version of Volume II is based, with permission, on the work of the great volunteers at the Marine Captains Biographies site. To them goes the credit for reorganizing the content into some coherent order. The biographies in the original volume are in essentially random order.
Some of the transcription work was also done by Brendon Baillod, who maintains an excellent guide to Great Lakes Shipwreck Research.
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